Not Without My Son
by Wildcat Warrior
Summary: Suppose for a moment that Sheldon and Ramona had met when they were teenagers, and had a son together. Now that I have your attention guys, this story here shows the undying love and determination that Sheldon has to make sure his family has everything they need, and that they are always taken care of. Happy Reading. Rated M for language.


**Author's Note**

 **I got this idea from what**

 **just happened with my nephew**

 **losing his phone and all of us**

 **looking for it. Sounds funny I know.**

 **What about, if Sheldon had met Ramona**

 **long before she was a grad student, like**

 **when they were just teenagers, and had a son?**

 **Not Without My Son**

 **Chapter One**

 **Weekend Trip**

 **Amy and Sheldon have been married for about eight years now, and although they have two kids together, Sheldon had a son with Ramona when they were only 16 and 17. They had met one summer at his Uncle's Dude Ranch in Texas, where her parents had dragged her along cause she was always in trouble in school. There, she met the tall, geeky, and yet very handsome young man and fell head over hills in love with him. It wasn't until after the one time they were intimate, that her Father made them stay apart. Sheldon found out about Skylar when he was 2 years old, and did everything in his power to be in his life. Ramona decided that it wasn't right for her Father to treat Sheldon, or their son the way he was, and she moved out as soon as she became of age, and continued to let Sheldon spend as much time with him as he possibly could. Amy's on her computer finishing up some research in the kitchen of their newly remodled home, and she hears her bestie upstairs in hers and Leonard's room, chasing around their kids and trying to get them ready to go to the park for a cookout. Amy smiles and texts Penny on her phone, "Need any help sis?" Penny reads it and responds with, "Oh; all I can get." Amy about dies laughing at the way she responded and as she's making her way through the kitchen, Sheldon comes in and stops her to tell her something.**

 **"Hey baby. What's up?" Amy asks while giving him a quick kiss.**

 **"I just got a text from Ramona. She said Skylar's asking about coming this weekend. I thought he was going to his friend's house but he wants to come here instead." Sheldon starts to explain. Amy just stands there and says, "Yes. I know. I'd love to see him again."**

 **"Great because I have to drive to San Diego today and pick him up for the weekend. It's just about a two hour drive. You wanna go with me? How did you know already that he's wanting to come here this weekend?" Sheldon tells her.**

 **"He's been texting me all morning and asking me about coming over the weekend. I've gotta go help Penny with the kids really quick and I'll let her know we're going to get Skylar for the weekend. Do you have his recent school picture?" Amy replies.**

 **"Oh yes, of course. Here. I have one right here in my wallet." Sheldon says, and when he pulls the picture out, Amy says, "Oh my goodness. Sheldon, he looks nothing like Ramona. He looks straight up like you and everything. Your height, your body build, your nose, eyes, mouth. He is you made over."**

 **"He is that's for sure. Oh, hang on a second. What son?" Sheldon replies while hearing Skylar's ring tone start to play.**

 **"Hey Dad, just wondering if I'm coming this weekend or what." Amy can hear Skylar's voice asking.**

 **"Getting ready to head that way now. Oh, guess what I got yesterday at Game Stop." Sheldon tells him.**

 **"What's that?" Skylar asks.**

 **"I got all the Resident Evil games that you like for X Box 360." Sheldon replies, and Amy can hear him say, "Oh sweet! I'll go get my stuff and get ready."**

 **"Hey Penny, when we get done with the kids, I'm gonna take our two with us. We're going over to San Diego to pick up Skylar for the weekend." Amy tells her.**

 **"Is he going to be here over summer break again?" Penny asks.**

 **"I think so. Haven't talked about it yet. He is usually here for all the breaks. He's a good kid and I love having him around. Be back later. Love ya bestie." Amy replies. She gets Braiden and Jennifer, and heads out to the car where Sheldon is already waiting for them. They had Braiden shortly before they were married, and then Jennifer came shortly after they were married.**

 **"I can't wait to see Skylar. It's been awhile. I wish he could move in with us." Braiden says from the back.**

 **"I agree but his Mom won't let that happen. Jennifer honey, are you looking forward to seeing Skylar?" Sheldon tells them.**

 **"Yep. Hopefully we can go skating this weekend. Mom kind of mentioned something about it." Jennifer tells him.**

 **"We'll have to see honey. It depends on what your brother wants to do as well. You know we only get him on weekends and the school breaks. We'll talk to him and see if he would want to do that okay. You kids hungry back there?" Sheldon replies.**

 **"You know that Ramona hates me honey." Amy says while checking her text messages, making sure she answered them all from work the previous week.**

 **"I know. I've told her that even when she did move out from her parents' house, she had every chance in the world to find me and hook up but she never did. She blew that one and now I'm a happily married man, and will never look back or ever leave any of you. I have to keep talking to her though cause the simple fact of the matter is, she's got my son." Sheldon explains.**

 **"Oh honey, I didn't mean for you to stop talking to her. I'm thrilled to have Skylar with us whenever he can be there. It's his Mother that I can't stand." Amy replies and that's when Braiden and Jennifer tell them that they are hungry.**

 **Two hours later, Sheldon's sitting in the driveway at Ramona and her current boyfriend's house, and when he gets out of the car, he tells Amy and the kids, "Stay here. I'll be right back."**

 **"He's inside waiting for you. How have you been doing?" Ramona asks, and she hugs Sheldon but then sees the look on Amy's face. She pulls away from him and walks over to the car. She tells Amy she meant no harm and that it was a friendly gesture.**

 **"Hey Dad!" Skylar calls out while bouncing out of the house.**

 **"What's up son?" Sheldon asks and he hugs him and ruffles his hair, telling him, "We need to get your hair cut again."**

 **"Yeah I know. Travis teased me about that last week. Oh you brought Braiden and Jennifer." Skylar replies, and he walks over to the car but on the way there, he trips over his own big feet. He jumps right back up and announces with his hands in the air, "Meant to do that! It's all good."**

 **"He can't walk a straight line to save his name." Ramona says.**

 **"He is a klutz. God help him if he ever starts drinking and gets pulled over one night. He'll fail that test nine ways to Sunday." Sheldon replies and everyone's laughing at the way Skylar jumped back up and what he said.**

 **"Excuse me Ramona. I have a favor to ask of you." Jennifer says, while walking up to her.**

 **"What's that sweetheart?" Ramona asks, and she hugs her.**

 **"May I use your bathroom please? Haven't went since the house." Jennifer replies.**

 **"Of course baby girl. Down the hall, third door on your right. Does Braiden need to go too?" Ramona tells her.**

 **"I don't know. Be right back Dad." Jennifer says, and she goes through the house.**

 **"Braiden, if you need to go to the bathroom while we're here, you better go." Amy tells him. He gets out and heads up the driveway and Amy decides to go ahead and get out to walk around. Sheldon was the only one for the longest time who smoked, and Amy got tired of putting up with the smell of it, so she started up. Ramona's been smoking since she was a teenager though. She pulls a Marlboro out of her pack, offers one to Amy, and motions for her to go up on the porch with her for a minute.**

 **"Come here please. Need to talk to ya about something." Ramona says, and Amy takes the cigarette, lights it up, and they go up on the porch to talk.**

 **"What's up?" Amy asks.**

 **"I know you probably think that I hate you. I don't hate ya Amy. I don't hate anyone. The truth of it is this. He and I were together only the one time and I had every opportunity in this world, to get with him. I waited too late, let my pride get in the way, and I missed out. You two are very lucky to have found each other, and I'm happy for the both of you and the life you've made together. Please forgive me if I have done anything to make you think otherwise." Ramona explains.**

 **"Wow. So, what do we do now? Become the best of friends, hang out, do each other's hair and makeup? What now?" Amy asks.**

 **"Well, I'm not saying it's going to be over night. I mean, I don't really know you and you don't really know me. But, we are both Mothers, and the safety and happiness of our children, is the main priority so, I say we just take it one day at a time. Get to know each other on an adult level, and a mutual acquaitance. Go from there." Ramona suggests. Amy just takes another puff off her cigarette and nods her head.**

 **"Alright. Sounds good to me. We gotta get back on the road. Leonard and Penny are cooking out at the park today. Gonna let the kids swim in the pond and play some games and such." Amy tells her. She puts her cigarette out, walks out to the car, and tells the kids to climb in and load up.**

 **"What did she say?" Sheldon asks.**

 **"She doesn't hate me, she loves kids, and wants to get to know each other. She seems okay enough. We'd better get back. Skylar are you hungry? There's a cook out at the park today that Leonard and Penny are hosting. You wanna wait for that or get a snack before we get back?" Amy replies, then she turns her attention to the kids.**

 **"Let's get a snack before we get back." Skylar says.**

 **"That works for me." Braiden joins in.**

 **"Me too." Jennifer tells them.**

 **The next morning, Amy walks out into the living room and she finds Skylar asleep in the reclining love seat, with the blanket up over his head.**

 **"Why is he in here?" Amy asks Sheldon who's working on breakfast for everyone.**

 **"He said he doesn't really have his own room at home. He sleeps on the love seat there all reclined back like he is here. His room is more of a storage for Travis's stuff." Sheldon tells her.**

 **"That's awful. Kids need a room to sleep in for privacy. Have you spoke with Romona about this yet?" Amy replies, and she sees Skylar's bare feet sticking out from under the blanket.**

 **"Don't worry. That's how he sleeps. And I texted her and told her she needs to call me. I haven't heard anything back yet." Sheldon says and then Leonard comes downstairs.**

 **"What's he doing on the love seat? We have beds here that the boy can sleep in." Leonard asks.**

 **"Trouble at home possibly. That's all I know for now. You hungry?" Sheldon replies.**

 **"Yeah. What are you fixing?" Leonard says and he takes a seat at the island bar.**

 **"Sausage, eggs, hashbrowns, and waffles. Can you guys believe how big a foot that boy has?" Sheldon replies, and he points toward where Skylar's sleeping at. They see that he even has Sheldon's feet. Same shape and length to boot.**

 **"I bet it's fun keeping him in shoes. What size does he wear anyway?" Leonard asks.**

 **"12. He's only fifteen and is already 5'11. He's gonna be tall like his old man." Sheldon tells him, then everyone starts gathering around the table.**

 **"Morning guys." Amy says to everyone.**

 **"Skylar! Wake up. I'm cooking breakfast. It's 9:30." Sheldon hollers to him. He just moves around a little bit but doesn't get up. Sheldon hands the spatula to Amy for her to take over and he goes over, pulls the cover off Skylar's head and says, "Hey boy! Get up. Come on son, time to wake up."**

 **"Okay. We played the game kind of late last night. Good morning everyone." Skylar replies, and he puts the foot rest down, gets up to stretch, and goes into the bathroom.**

 **"Great Ceasar's ghost. That boy is so freaking skinny. Doesn't his Mother feed him?" Penny asks.**

 **"He eats like a damn horse. He's got a high metabolism like me." Sheldon tells her. Skylar gets back in the living room and goes to get a cup of coffee to which Amy asks him if he wants anything in it. Jennifer is sitting there and says, "You drink coffee?"**

 **"Yea, sometimes." Skylar replies.**

 **"His Mom lets him have it once in awhile. Oh son, don't forget. I picked you up some Monsters yesterday." Sheldon says, talking about his favorite energy drink.**

 **"Alright. Thank You." Skylar tells him. Amy takes Sheldon into Jennifer's room downstairs to talk to him.**

 **"He's so nice and polite and well mannered, he deserves better than what he's getting at home. He told me too that he only has the love seat to sleep on because his room has basically been turned into a storage unit. What's even worse is, Travis gets onto him for the stupidest of things." Amy explains.**

 **"I've already straight up told Travis that I don't like him and if I ever see any hand prints on my son that are bigger than his Mother's hands, I will personally drive over to their house, walk inside, and blow his brains out right there where he sits. It may sound rude of me or mean but, I couldn't give a fuck! That's my son, not his." Sheldon tells her and Amy hugs him and says, "So, what do we do honey?"**

 **"I don't know. I really want him here and he's old enough to decide where he wants to be at. I'll talk to him later. Romona's always been great with him and never hurt him or been mean to him, but Travis is a whole other monster. As far as I know, and Skylar wouldn't lie to me, Travis has never put his hands on him." Sheldon says, and that's when Skylar hollers, "Hey, get off me you little runt! Dad! Amy! Somebody. Help!" He's laughing the whole time though.**

 **"You kids knock it off and eat your breakfast. I've got a phone call to make." Sheldon tells them all.**

 **"Everything okay Dad?" Skylar asks.**

 **"Yeah son. Go ahead and eat. I'll get mine when I get back." Sheldon replies and Skylar shrugs his shoulders, says, "Okay." and goes back to his breakfast.**

 **Chapter Two**

 **The Confrontation**

Around the time that Amy's fixing lunch for all the kids, they're all around the X Box watching Sheldon and Skylar play Resident Evil 5 and they're going through their inventory for a minute.

"Do you need any rifle ammo?" Sheldon asks.

"Nah, I'm good on that. Need some shotgun shells?" Skylar replies. Sheldon tells him he is kind of low on them and they start doing an ammo exchange.

"Okay, who are we ready for again?" Sheldon says.

"Um. I think we are, ready for Irving. That part's really fun. He turns into like a big crocodile looking thing." Skylar tells him. Sheldon's phone rings and he has to put the game on hold for a second so Skylar gets his phone and starts playing with that.

"Skylar, can you come help me a minute?" Amy asks.

"Sure." Skylar says, and he's up off the couch instantly and in the kitchen.

"Thanks. You're taller than me. I can't reach those boxes of shells and cheese up there." Amy tells him.

"Oh okay. Here ya go." Skylar replies, and he gets a hot mountain dew out of the box, then goes back to the living room.

"We have cold ones in the fridge honey." Amy says.

"It's okay. I'll drink them either way." Skylar says while playing with his phone again.

"No Ramona. You're not listening to me. He's told me that his room has became a storage unit for Travis' stuff. Now, what's up with that one?" Sheldon tells her.

"We can't afford a storage unit that we pay on each month so, we just put things in Skylar's room. He's never said anything before. We're actually trying to clean his room out and get things put up and store the rest in our room." Ramona explains.

"Okay. Well, how about Travis getting onto him and hollering at him like he does? Skylar doesn't take care of plants. He's a boy, not a girl. He doesn't know anything about flowers, plants, or how to take care of them. Now, feeding the dogs, he can do that. The dishes, he said he does those since you two work all the time. I'm just saying that Travis needs to back off of my son." Sheldon tells her.

"I know and I agree. I'll talk to him later when he gets home. That's all I can do for now. How's he doing there?" Ramona asks.

"He's loving it here. We're playing a game right now." Sheldon replies, and Skylar sticks his head out the door and says, "Dad. I'm ready whenever you are."

"Okay son, I'm coming. Ramona, I have to go." Sheldon says.

The next afternoon when Sheldon and Amy are getting everything ready to take Skylar home, he loses his phone in the house somewhere and Sheldon looks like he is getting mad.

"Where did you have it at? You were just over by the love seat. Would it be wrapped up in that blanket?" Sheldon asks.

"I don't know. Maybe." Skylar says.

"Well go get the damn thing and look." Sheldon tells him.

"Honey calm down. How many phones have you had to replace?" Amy tells him.

"I'm not mad that he lost it again. Just thinking I'm gonna have to go and buy him another phone. This one here makes number four." Sheldon says, and Skylar's shaking the blanket out and they hear his phone drop behind the love seat and beside the table. Skylar picks it up and says, "Here we go."

"Okay, let's load up. Penny, Leonard, we'll be back later." Amy tells them and the kids are giving Skylar hugs.

"I'll miss you Skylar." Tracie says.

"I'll miss you too." Skylar replies.

"Take care Sky." Mark tells him.

"You too. I should be back next weekend. School is over next Thursday though for summer break." Skylar explains.

"Take care son. Be good." Leonard says, and he hugs him too.

"I will Leonard. You take care as well. Love you guys." Skylar tells his adopted Aunt and Uncle. They head out to the car and Skylar already has his music on his phone, in his ears.

When they get to Ramona's house, the kids are still finishing their meals from McDonald's, and Skylar's slurping on his caramel frapee that he always has to have. Ramona's out by the car, talking to them all about their weekend and she has some news to give to Sheldon.

"I need to speak with you. Can you come up on the porch? Skylar, go put your stuff up buddy." Ramona says. They get up on the porch and Ramona just puts her hands up to her mouth before she starts the conversation.

"What's going on?" Sheldon asks.

"I talked to Travis about everything and he suggested that we find a bigger place. That way, we'll have room for storage areas, plus Skylar will have his own room that he doesn't use for other people's stuff. Plus, Travis is wanting to move out of state and find better work for us." Ramona explains.

"I don't think so. If you all wanna move out of state, that's fine. If I won't see my son anymore, then I'm taking him back with me today. I won't be in any state, without my son." Sheldon tells her.

"I know, I know. That's what I told him. I'll talk to him again when he gets up later. He fell asleep earlier and I've not had a chance to really tell him anything or talk to him. I won't let you and Skylar be separated, I promise." Ramona replies. Skylar comes back out of the house with his basketball and asks if Jennifer and Braiden can play with him for a little bit.

"Yeah buddy. I don't care. Go get them." Sheldon replies and Skylar goes over to the car to ask them if they wanna play for awhile while the adults talk.

"So, like I said. I don't want to keep the two of you apart. I will do my best to talk to him again." Ramona says.

"Well you already know where I stand on this. He tries to take Skylar from me and I won't leave this front porch. Not without my son, I will take him with me." Sheldon tells her. Ramona nods her head in agreement and promises again that she will talk to Travis. Sheldon gets Braiden and Jennifer and tells them to load up. While they're headed back to the car, Amy can see that something's wrong but she never says anything.

Just two days after Sheldon and Ramona talked, it's 3:00 in the morning when he gets a phone call. He reaches over, turns the light on, which bothers Amy. She just pulls the blanket over her head and he tells her, "Something's wrong. Ramona wouldn't be calling me this early in the morning unless something happened. Hello?" He sits straight up in bed after telling Amy about Romona calling and the thought that something really is going on, was enough to pull Amy completely from her slumber.

"I hate to call you and bother you this early in the morning but, I talked to Travis and he's throwing us out. We have nowhere to go. I'm not going to sleep on the street with Skylar so, if you don't want me there, I understand. Just please, come and get him until I find us somewhere to be at." Ramona explains.

"Stay put. Just round your stuff together and tell Skylar to stay clear of Travis. Tell him I said to get his computer, his gaming system, his games, everything that's his. I'm on my way. I'm bringing Leonard with me." Sheldon says.

"Sheldon, what's going on honey? What happened?" Amy asks.

"Is there any way at all that you can help me with putting me in a motel for awhile until I find us something?" Ramona asks.

"No. You both are coming here. You and Amy have gotten along pretty good and you've not tried anything stupid so, you'll come here. You and Skylar get shit packed and Leonard and I are on our way." Sheldon tells her. Ramona thanks him over and over and finally, Amy can't take no more waiting.

"Sheldon Lee Cooper! What is going on? Are Ramona and Skylar okay?" Amy demands.

"They're being thrown out by Travis. She talked to him about not wanting to keep us apart and he got pissed off and threw them out of his house. They're packing stuff right now and Leonard and I are going to get them. There's a guest room here, Romona can have that. Skylar's going to be in Braiden's room with him. We'll be back in about two, three hours. I love you." Sheldon tells her. He's up out of bed, dressed, and going down the hall into Leonard and Penny's room.

"Sheldon? What's going on buddy? It's the middle of the night." Leonard asks, while turning the light on his phone on.

"We've gotta go get Skylar and Ramona. Travis threw them out and they have nowhere to go. I know that we all have work in the morning and it's late already but, I really have to go and get my son here." Sheldon explains.

"No problem. Just call President Siebert and tell him you and I have to take tomorrow off for a family emergency since we'll get back so late in the morning." Leonard says, and he's out of bed and pulling on a pair of blue jeans over his night time shorts. He slips his shoes on, ties them, then says, "Come on. I'm ready."

When Leonard and Sheldon get to San Diego, he has Leonard to text Skylar and tell him they are in the area. Skylar texts back with, "Okay. Please tell my Dad that Travis is still running his mouth and we just want to get out of here." They pull up outside of the house and Sheldon gets out of the car and doesn't even bother with knocking. He found Skylar out on the front porch with most of his stuff. Leonard gets him loaded up and helps him with everything, then tells him to stay put. He goes in to help Sheldon and finds a shouting match.

"Listen here asshole! I don't know what happened, I wasn't here but I'm going to be talking to my son and if I found out you've done anything to him or his Mother, you and I've had this conversation already. I will kill your ass on the spot." Sheldon tells him, and when Travis goes to take a swing at him, Sheldon blocks him, returns the punch, and sends him flying backwards over the coffee table.

"Sheldon. He said that he was tired of me defending a rude and lazy teenager who got everything he wanted, and that Skylar didn't have to do any work to get the things he has." Ramona says, and Sheldon only keeps his eyes on Travis and says, "Get in the truck."

"Come with me. Don't do this Sheldon. He's not worth it. He never touched us. I promise you, he didn't do anything but throw us out and run his mouth quite a bit." Ramona assures him. Sheldon decides to be the bigger man and he turns to leave the house. He gets Ramona by her elbow, leading her down the driveway in the dark and she asks him, "Are you sure that Amy's okay with me coming to your place? She and I have reached a new found friendship and I'm not going to try to take you away from her."

"She's fine. She even asked me to please come and get you guys tonight. I was going to anyway but when I told her what was going on, she didn't hesitate to tell me to come after you. You remember Leonard correct?" Sheldon tells her upon them getting in the truck, which is actually an extended cab that has two back passenger seats plus the two seats up front. Ramona climbs in the back with Skylar and she gets to know Leonard all over again.

"It's been awhile. I think I met you when I brought Skylar to the house last summer or a few years ago. A lot's been going on since then. How have you been?" Ramona asks while patting him on his shoulder.

"It has been awhile, I agree. Penny and I are living in the same house as Sheldon and Amy. You know already that they have Braiden and Jennifer. We have Tracie and Mark and they're 12 and 10. A little crazy at the house but don't worry. We have room for the two of you. You're in the guest room and Skylar's in with his brother." Leonard tells her.

"Party time." Skylar says.

"Oh no it's not. We get back to the house, your sister and brother are in bed. You're going to go in there to Braiden's room, we'll set your bed up tonight, Thank God that your Uncle Leonard brought his pick up truck for this tonight. Then after that, you're going to bed. We get your Mom settled into the guest room, then I'm going back to bed. Not going into work in the morning though." Sheldon explains and Ramona asks, "Why not Sheldon?"

"Well. You called us at 3:00 and it took us two hours to get here, and another hour at best just to load everything up. It's after 6:00 now. Usually, we'd be up around 6:00 or 6:30 to get ready for work. This was more important. You can go back to sleep until we get there son. Unless, you're hungry already in which case I'll stop somewhere and get you some breakfast sandwiches and a chocolate milk." Sheldon replies and Ramona tells him, "He's asleep already. Go ahead and get those sandwiches though and he can just eat them later on. Make sure you get enough for all the kids."

"Why don't we go a little farther and get sandwiches for everyone? We'll just make sure we get all they got and take them home, and that will be breakfast. Amy and Penny will be happy that they won't have to cook." Leonard suggests.

"Alright. Sounds like a plan. I'll just pick up two gallons of milk or more if I have too. Leonard can only drink the soy milk though. I need to get whole milk and Hershey's syrup for Skylar. He likes that the best." Sheldon replies. They continue to make their way toward home, and on the way there, Sheldon pulls into the Marathon station which wakes up Skylar and he asks what's going on. Leonard tells him, and he jumps out of the truck to go help his Dad and to use the bathroom inside before continuing on their journey home.

"He doesn't even have to be asked or told and he'll just jump up and help. I wish Mark was like that." Leonard tells Ramona.

"Yeah? He doesn't like to help much with anything huh?" Ramona asks, while replying to a text message from her boss.

"Nope. He's more into his games and such. Now Tracie, she's up before any of us are and she's doing her part in getting items out for breakfast or if any of us were just too tired from the night before and didn't get something done, she's the one to get it. She's very independant. So much like her Mama." Leonard replies, and Ramona asks him something that she shouldn't probably be thinking about just yet.

"I hate to do this to you and put you on the spot but, do you know anyone who's single? Good with kids, hard worker, compassionate, down to earth, and not into playing bull shit head games, and really knows what they want out of life? Bet you probably don't do ya?" Ramona says, in a jokingly manner.

"Actually, I do. His name is Rajesh Kootherppali. He's Indian, great with kids, just went through a really messy divorce. He works in Astral Physics at Cal Tech, and he knows Skylar already. He's in our social group." Leonard tells her.

"Oh hon, I was basically just kidding but, it looks like I'm single once again. Wouldn't hurt to talk to him sometime." Ramona says, and Sheldon and Skylar are making their way back from inside the Marathon station with their hands full.

"Did you two get everything we need?" Leonard asks.

"Yea pretty well. They didn't have Mom Amy's favorite breakfast sandwiches. So, I'll give her my sausage, egg, and cheese ones and I'll take the bacon ones." Skylar replies. Then he sees the look on his Mom's face. He instantly says, "Sorry Mom."

"For what? Because you said Mom Amy? Honey, she is your Step Mother. I don't mind you calling her that." Ramona tells him. He just nods his head in agreement, and says, "Alright." He then goes back to his phone until he's asleep again.

 **Chapter Three**

 **The Note**

Ramona and Skylar have been living with everyone at the house and doing really good. Skylar notices that his Mom doesn't seem like herself one afternoon and he sits down, turns his game off, and talks to her about it.

"Are you okay?" Skylar asks.

"Yeah buddy. I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Ramona replies.

"You're really distant today. I mean when you and Uncle Raj had that one date the other night, you've been really quiet ever since then. What happened?" Skylar says, while opening up one of his Monster energy drinks.

"You know I wish you wouldn't drink those things. You're only fifteen." Ramona tells him.

"I only have them once in awhile. Anyway, Uncle Raj?" Skylar replies, and he just about downs half of his drink.

"Well, he got to going on about how bad his divorce was. I felt for him, I really did. It's just that, I don't need to hear everyone's problems right now when I got enough of my own. I have to find a home for us, it's a good thing summer break's going on since you're out of school for now. I have to find a job, and he goes on about all the things he wishes was different. He's a great guy, don't get me wrong." Ramona explains.

"Okay. The thing you have to understand about Uncle Raj is this. He's not afraid to open up about his feelings but, he can go to the extremes sometimes. He was telling Dad once about how things were really going South for him and Emily, right before they divorced. I got tired of hearing about it, and so did everyone else. We listened though and tried to offer our advise. He must have thought that we were telling him to throw in the towel because not long after that, he did just that and filed for divorce. He's kind of different in the way he talks to people, but he does mean well." Skylar explains to her and she nods her head, trying to process everything.

"Hey Skylar. Go get ready buddy and we'll all go to the roller rink. I have to put in orders for you and your brother and sister to get new blades. Uncle Leonard's gonna get Mark and Tracie new blades today too. Go on, go get ready." Sheldon tells him.

"Sweet! This is going to be the best day ever. Hey Mom Amy!? Are you getting new blades too? Aunt Bernadette said once that you all blade and not roller skate." Skylar announces while running upstairs to his and Braiden's room.

"I believe we all are getting them today. Did you ask your Mom if she wanted to go too?" Amy replies.

"Nah, not yet. I will when I get back down there. Braiden, Jennifer, come on guys." Skylar says, and he's getting him a pair of socks to put on for the rental blades. Sheldon asks Ramona if she wants to go too, and she politely declines and says that she's just not feeling up to anything yet. He tells her okay and that they'll all see her when they get back, and then they head down to Penny's mini van and load up.

At the roller rink, Skylar is trying to get his Dad out there and he keeps saying, "I don't think so buddy. I'm not that good anymore. I haven't done this in years."

"Come on Daddy. Come out here with us. It's really fun." Jennifer tells him, and even Amy rolls right past him with no trouble.

"Sheldon, come on you big party pooper. Get your butt out there. I'm going back out here in a few minutes. It's easy." Amy says.

"You do this with Penny and Bernadette all the time though. It comes easy to you." Sheldon tells her. Amy whispers in Skylar's ear and says, "Tell him that String Theory and Dark Matter suck. That will get him out here." Skylar just grins and laughs but does as she said. He goes and stands over at the wall, leans over it, and says, "Hey Dad. Did you know that String Theory and Dark Matter really suck big time?"

"Do what?! Boy, I know you didn't just say what I think you just said. Get back here." Sheldon says, and he's on his feet, roller blades and all, and going after Skylar, who is even blading backwards with his hands up, waving his hands for his Dad to come after him.

"Come on Dad, come on. Come get me." Skylar says, taunting Sheldon, and just when he reaches him, he's having so much fun that instead of chasing him around, Sheldon hugs him and tells him, "Very nicely played buddy." They all go around the rink for about ten more rounds, then take a break and get something to eat and drink. While they're eating, they all take turns challenging each other in pool when Amy looks at her watch.

"Sheldon honey. We only have about fifteen minutes. We payed for the 1:00 to 4:00 round. We'd probably better get our rental gear returned and get ready to go. We also need to get our orders in for our blades if we're still going to do that today." Amy tells him. He looks at his watch to confirm and says, "Yeah you're right. It is about time to go. Okay kids. Everyone over to the table, get an order book, pick out your blades, and let us and the lady up there know which ones you've selected." Skylar has chosen a pair that's metallic blue in size 11, Braiden has chosen a pair of metallic orange with black on them in size 9, and Jennifer has chosen a pair of deep royal purple, and all of the blades have clear wheels on them. Sheldon chose a black onyx looking pair, and Amy got the hot pink. Their wheels are clear as well. They all have the soft top laces too. Sheldon and Amy pay half the amount to get everyone's blades ordered, which up front cost them around $300.00, and then they load up in the mini van.

"Penny did you guys get blades too?" Skylar asks.

"We ordered ours when we first got here today. Mark got the blue and grey ones and then Tracie got the red ones. Leonard picked out the yellow ones and then I got the green ones. It cost us over $200.00 up front to put the order in." Penny tells him.

"Yeah I think my Dad said just for today ours was over three hundred. This place made money off of us today." Skylar replies. Sheldon goes through asking everyone what they want to eat and they all pick Golden Corral.

When everyone gets back to the house, the kids all gather around the game systems but, Skylar keeps feeling like something is telling him to go to the guest room. He tells everyone that he'll be back in a few minutes.

"What's up son?" Sheldon asks.

"I'm, not sure. I'll be back though. I wanna let Mom know we're back now." Skylar replies. He goes into the guest room to find it completely empty. He looks around and notices a note on the bedside table. He sits down on the bare mattress, Indian style, and begins to read the note.

"Dear Skylar: I was so hoping, that you'd be the one to see this note. I wanted to let you know that you have done nothing wrong. I chose to leave you here with your Dad and Amy, and your brother and sister. I can't give you what they can. I'm still working toward my career and I can't be a burden on anyone. Ever since my Dad tried to keep you and your Father apart, I swore and vowed, that I'd never let that happen. I love you, and I will be back to see you as often as I can. I see how happy you are here with everyone, and you have something with them, that I never had. Every parent wants to give their child more than what they had growing up, and this way, I can with you. Please don't hate me for leaving like this. I just have a lot of inner demons to sort through, get my life on track, get my career going, and I had hoped that I would be able to do that before you was of age. I see now, that it's going to take quite awhile. Inside the folder that was next to this note, you'll find all the proper items needed for you to live with your Dad and Amy full time. You'll all find your birth certificate, social security card, everything you'll need for the new school year, things to get your first ID card, learner's permit, and eventually, driver's license. Not to mention, I went over to the library today while you all were out, and I photo copied adoption papers for your Dad and Amy to sign. Now, yes. You do have the last name of Cooper and always will, and your Father was listed on your birth certificate, but this here will make it so that your Grand Father can never obtain custody of you. This isn't the kind of note or letter that one would leave for their Daughter or Son but, seeing as how you're so smart that you sleep in class and still pass with straight A's, I knew you could handle it. Please know, that I love you, and I will always be with you in your heart, thoughts, and prayers, as you'll always be in mine. I love you buddy and even as I'm writing this now, I'm fighting back the tears knowing that, I won't be here anymore to see you grow up and mature into the young man I know you'll become. Tell your Dad and Amy, and everyone, that I said Thank You so much for everything they all have done for me. Take care of yourself, stay out of trouble, continue to make good grades, and I promise, I will be around to see you as soon as I'm able to do so. Love always, Mom."

"She's really gone. She talked about it so much, I just never thought she'd really do it. I better let Dad know about this." Skylar says to himself after reading his Mom's note. He didn't have to get very far out of the bedroom because just as he was getting off the bed, he hears, "Skylar? Where's your Mom?"

"You're my Mom now Amy. Look at this." Skylar tells her. She sits down to read the note and her hand goes up to her mouth in shock. She reads over it again then asks if he's okay. He just nods his head, but tries to keep the tears back. It doesn't work cause as soon as Amy puts her arm around him, he leans his head on her shoulder, and finally cries.

 **Chapter Four**

 **Graduation**

Skylar is about to walk across the stage at his high school graduation, and he keeps looking out across the packed auditorium. He's been at Pasadena High for three years now, and his Mother's letters kept coming regular for him. The one in particular he read over and over was the one saying she'd be there at his graduation, and that she was still in collage for her career. He just sighs and then something inside tells him, "She's not coming. How many times now has she said that she'd be there and not show up? She loves you yes, but she's just not coming." He stands there for a minute when he hears his buddy, Noah, talking to him about something.

"What man? I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. I guess I was day dreaming or something. What's up?" Skylar asks.

"I was asking if you was gonna come to our party to celebrate graduation today. Can you make it?" Noah asks him.

"Nah, Mom and Dad have a big thing planned at the park when we get out of here. Uncle Leonard and Aunt Penny are hosting a big cook out again, and I think that Uncle Rajesh is flying in from India, then Uncle Howard and Aunt Bernadette are coming too. I think even my Grandma Cooper will be here from Texas. If she hasn't already shown up. At least she'll be here." Skylar replies.

"Dude, forget about her. She left you behind. She may have had a lot on her plate to deal with but guess what man? Your kids come first before your own self pity. She could have found a way to stay with you, and still get her shit straight. You deserve better than that. True. She gave you better than that when she put Amy as your Mother. She's the better one for you, and you know that." Noah tells him. Skylar sits down on a big shipping box, sighs, and tells him, "You're right. So why do I care so damn much? Why does it still hurt me after three years?"

"I don't know brother. I'll tell you this though. I went through something similar to this in grade school. My parents divorced and I ended up staying with my Mom. My Dad ran out on us and I had to be the only man there to take care of everything. Plus, try to keep my grades up, maintain a high enough GPA, and get chores done, then in the summer time, I didn't have a summer break. I had a summer job when I was old enough to get a work permit. I just never told anyone about my Dad leaving like that cause I thought ya know, there's worse things and people don't wanna be bombarded with my problems when they got enough of their own. So, I feel ya buddy. I know what it's like." Noah explains, and then their names are called.

"Noah Phillip Jacobs." The principal announces. Noah walks up there, gets his diploma, shakes the principal's hand, then walks off stage to rejoin everyone who's already seated.

"Skylar Lee Cooper." The principal says, calling Skylar up, and the whole social science gang is there, cheering and clapping for him, and when Skylar hears Jennifer call out, "That's my big brother! Love you Sky!" He can't help but smile and laugh and for a split second, forget about Ramona not showing up like she had promised him. Noah and Skylar sit with the rest of their class while the others in their row are getting their diplomas, and Amy's video recording everything.

"Sheldon? Has he gotten his diploma yet?" They all hear. They turn to see Ramona standing there.

"Yes he has. Where have you been?" Sheldon asks.

"I had a lot of things to take care of, and I knew it wouldn't be fair to him being bounced back and forth, so I gave him to you and Amy." Ramona tells him.

"You didn't give him to us. We already had him. He chose a long time ago when he was twelve, that he wanted to be with us. He's told me this already. Now, you're welcome to see the rest of his graduation today, and you can also join us for the cook out at Rowena Reservoir in L A. We're driving there when we leave here. Gonna stay a couple days and nights. You're welcome to be a part of that but, the very second you start bringing up your past demons, you're out of there. Understand?" Sheldon replies, and he lets her know by the edge in his voice, that he means business. She nods her head and then asks Amy, "You feel the same way don't you?"

"Yes I do. You allowed me to legally adopt him as my Son, and as his Mother, I am telling you that I strongly agree with my husband." Amy replies, while continuing to video tape everything. The principal finishes going through all the names, and Penny snaps the best picture of Skylar where he's smiling from ear to ear while holding up his diploma and turning the tassle from one side to the other one.

The ceremony's coming to an end and when Skylar gets over to his family, he sees Ramona standing there. He whispers something in Sheldon's ear to which he whispers back in Skylar's ear, saying, "Are you sure? It's up to you." Skylar nods his head yes that he's sure and then says, "How have you been Ramona? Not seen you in three years since you left me behind like you didn't even want me."

"I've always wanted you Skylar. I didn't want to leave you like that but I knew it just wouldn't be fair to have you bouncing back and forth like you was. I hope you can forgive me. I'm still your Mom." Ramona tells him.

"No ya ain't. You gave up that right when you gave me up. I have to Thank You for something though. You gave me the best of life when I was placed full time with Mom and Dad. I do love you for that. Hey Dad, are we ready to go? We've got about six hours of driving time ahead of us and I want to get out of this thing." Skylar replies, while talking to both Ramona and his Dad.

"Guess I had that coming. Sheldon, he's pretty well made up his mind. I'll always love him, and all of you. He doesn't want me around and I don't blame him. Please. Give him this for me. I'll be going now." Ramona says, and she hands him a graduation card for Skylar. Out of respect, Sheldon leaves it safely sealed inside the envelope and never opens it until he gets back from talking to everyone. Sheldon just looks at Amy and lightly shakes his head. She replies with, "I know baby."

"Hey Skylar, we gotta get on the road son. If you wanna get home and change, we gotta get going." Amy calls to him.

"Coming Mom. Hey guys, we'll keep in contact okay. Gotta run. Peace y'all. Love you guys. Noah, Thanks a lot man." Skylar says, and he hugs everyone then rejoins his family.

Everyone's already packed for their three day and three night stay at Rowena Reservoir, and they've been on the road for at least three hours when Sheldon finally hands the envelope to Skylar. He decides to be the bigger person and go ahead and open it. He reads the card, reads what Ramona wrote in there, and then sees some money. He figured it was only a $20.00 but, when he looked even farther, he found in total, $250.00 in it.

"Uh Dad? You aren't going to believe this but, here. Look. I know Mom's driving right now and then the next time we stop, you're taking over." Skylar says, and he hands it to Sheldon.

"What's the matter buddy?" Sheldon asks, and when he takes the card and everything to look at it, his jaw just drops.

"I'm going to have to put that in the bank or something. I don't wanna spend it stupidly." Skylar tells him.

"That's a good idea. We'll be there in about another couple of hours. You kids have a choice between stopping for something to eat, or when we reach our next rest stop for your Dad and I to switch places driving, we can get sandwiches out of vending machines. What do you guys think?" Amy says. They all share a look with each other and in unison they say, "McDonald's."

"I don't blame them honey. Vending machine sandwiches are nasty and you have no idea how fresh or non fresh they are. The last thing we need is a car load of sick kids." Sheldon says.

"Excuse me Dad. I'm an adult now." Skylar tells him.

"Well excuse me son but, I'll be begging your pardon there. No matter how old you get, you'll always be my kid. Same as Braiden and Jennifer." Sheldon replies.

"Yea, that's true. I wonder who all else is going to be at this thing with us. Did Ramona say she's going to be there?" Skylar asks while Braiden and Jennifer are listening to music on their phones and already missed ninety percent of the conversation.

"She was going to be there but then," Sheldon starts to say and he sees Amy jerk her shoulder in a way that tells him don't say anything to upset him, this being his day.

"What Dad?" Skylar asks.

"She was going to be there today but she had some stuff she had to do and to be on the safe side so she didn't show up late, she decided she couldn't make it." Sheldon says instead and then he sees Amy nodding her head in approval.

"Yeah right. She didn't want to be there today just like she didn't want me around so I could help her with stuff. I told her the first time she talked about this crap, not to send me away, but to let me stay with her and help her in any ways that I could." Skylar replies, and that's when Amy goes ahead and tells him the truth.

"Okay son. Here's the thing. At the ceremony, she was invited by us to join us today. We told her not to bring up her so called past demons, and that if she did, she was out of there. She said she understood that. Then, when you told her she's not your Mom anymore, she decided that you obviously didn't want her, so she left and said she wasn't going to bother any of us again. Don't think though, that you had anything to do with her decisions because you didn't." Amy explains.

"Mom. It's okay. I kind of figured it was something like that. I don't care. I always told you and Dad that everything was fine at home when it really wasn't. I had to do things there that a grown man should have done, I lost my room to Travis turning my room into a storage room for his stuff, and then Grandpa Nowitski tried to take me several times. This was the best thing that Ramona could ever do for me was leave me with you guys. For that, I'll always be grateful to her." Skylar tells them.

When there's only day left of their graduation vacation celebration, Skylar's walking along the lake, thinking back on different things of his life and how things happened to bring him where he is now.

 **FLASHBACK 1**

"Hey Daddy! Look at this. I can stand up on the horsey." Skylar says while trying to do a trick ride at his Great Uncle Dave's house one summer when he was four. This is the same David that got his arm caught in the wood chipper.

"Stop that before you get hurt." Sheldon replies, while thinking just how proud he is that he has a son. True enough, he and Ramona would never be together, but she did promise to have them in each other's lives. Skylar stopped trying to trick ride and then he found an apple low enough on a tree that he was able to pick and feed it to the horse.

 **FLASHBACK 2**

"Mom, Travis got onto me today and I didn't even do anything to him. When are you going to talk to him and make him leave me alone?" Skylar asks Ramona during a grocery shopping trip.

"He won't listen to me buddy. I can always try again though." Ramona tells him. That only causes him to sigh and roll his eyes.

"I wanna go live with my Dad and Amy." Skylar thinks to himself.

 **END OF FLASHBACKS**

"You okay Skylar? It's time to eat son." Sheldon tells him, snapping him from his thoughts.

"Yeah. I'm coming. I was just thinking is all." Skylar replies.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Sheldon asks.

"Not really. I just wish I would have called you to come and get me before three years ago. Nothing happened to me physically, just emotionally and verbally. I know you would have came and got me no questions asked. But, I'm really happy to be here with you all now. This is what I've been needing for a long time. Let's go eat." Skylar explains, and Sheldon hugs him and says, "You know I would have son. In a heart beat, I'd have came and got you. Come on. I think Uncle Leonard has the steaks done." They get back to their cabin and see everyone sitting at the picnic table, filling their plates with fried potatoes, corn on the cob, tomatoes, cottage cheese, and steaks, and Skylar takes a seat beside Amy and just hugs her for the longest time.

"What's all this about son?" Amy asks, while hugging him too.

"Please say that word again." Skylar says.

"What? Son? You are my son, and I love you buddy. I'm proud of you for graduating at the top of your class and surviving all the emotional hells that you went through. You never broke and you stayed strong." Amy replies. While they're enjoying their supper and their last night at Rowena Reservoir, Sheldon smiles and even though he wants to leave Ramona a nasty text message, he smiles instead. In his heart and his mind, he knows that her sending Skylar to them, was the best thing she ever could have done. It made them all closer as a family, and now, they're complete with all three of their kids, their family social group, and the love and laughter they all share.

 **THE END**


End file.
